


here

by ndnickerson



Category: Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Peril, Rescue, Sharing Body Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24055081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ndnickerson/pseuds/ndnickerson
Summary: Near the close of a case, Nancy finds herself tied up in a sinking boat, a situation she's becoming all too familiar with.
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Ned Nickerson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	here

"I'm here."

Ned's voice in the darkness, almost hoarse, just louder than a breath, just louder than the wash of water against wood, relentless.

"No," Nancy whispered, and it was almost a moan.

She, _they_ , had been in the water so long that when his fingertips brushed against her frozen skin, they were swollen and wrinkled.

Ned was her last hope. If he had seen the note, if he had summoned someone... But if he was here with her, then he hadn't.

Time slowed, stretched, lost all meaning as he used undoubtedly numb fingers to work the knots free. Her teeth were chattering and she couldn't make them stop. As soon as he freed her, she wrapped him in her stiff arms.

It was hard to think, now. She was grateful that at least they wouldn't drown, but she wasn't sure if the alternative was going to be worse.

"We have to get to the raft."

"R-r-raft?" she stammered out. Her jaw kept trembling. Her clothes were sodden, heavy.

But Ned was holding her tight. He was always so warm, but she could barely feel anything beyond the suggestion of pressure against her skin.

She realized that no part of that was good, not really.

"Shh. Shh." His lips brushed against her cheek. She could see it, even if she could barely feel it.

"Don't—shhh." She shuddered violently. "Have to—get—out." Her jaw was so tight it was hard to force any words out.

"Yeah. We will, baby."

The boat was well on its way to sinking when Ned helped her roll into the raft, and she sprawled there, flexing her fingers into fists, gazing up into the night sky. It was mockingly peaceful. The weight of a silent grave, muffled, muffled, water heavy and pressing her down—

She shuddered again and drew a breath so deep it hurt.

She had nearly been drowned several times. Every time, though, the panic it provoked was a little bit worse. She'd had far too long, especially tonight, to imagine the torture of this specific kind of death.

Then Ned joined her, hauling himself over the side and nearly collapsing on top of her, and she reached out and snagged him with numb fingers. The wind up here was cold, the stars were cold, and she was still so waterlogged that a tiny corner of her brain was wondering if this was just some feverish hallucination to distract her from the horror of her own death.

He muttered something and she closed her eyes, trying to keep her head from spinning. The raft bobbed as Ned shifted his weight, and she heard something ripping.

Then Ned was wrestling her out of her sodden clothes, and she helped as much as she could, suddenly desperate to get them off. He stripped down too, covering them in what had to be some kind of rescue blanket, holding her tight. Her shuddering worsened before she began to relax; finally, she was able to feel his warmth, the reassurance of him shushing against her hair.

The bad guys were getting away.

But she knew where they would likely be in the morning, and she was in absolutely no shape to deal with it now.

There was nothing sexy in the situation—if anything, she couldn't imagine much that would be _less_ sexy—but some elemental part of her brain registered that Ned was mostly naked and so was she, and reacted accordingly. Nancy just closed her eyes and concentrated on moving as little as possible, to keep any accumulated heat from escaping. She felt like icicles were likely forming in her hair.

_Slosh, slosh, slosh_. The water was rhythmic against the side of the raft, and Nancy buried her face against Ned's bare chest, angry at herself for needing this, angry that she had been caught and stowed away like so much garbage, left to drown. Angry that she had needed his help to get out of the situation.

But it was _Ned_. If she couldn't depend on Ned, nothing else meant very much.

"I'm here," he whispered again.

"Why?" she asked him, closing her eyes again. "This isn't _normal. I'm_ not normal. You could have died..."

"But we didn't," he said softly. He was taking her side of the argument, for once. So this really was a hallucination.

"Not yet," she muttered.

"Hey," he said, and she reluctantly opened her eyes to gaze into his. "Yeah, this was way closer a call than I would ever want to see. But we're here. We just need to get to a hospital, get you checked out, and everything will look better in the morning."

Nancy considered. Her brain still seemed to be working at a fraction of its usual speed. "Counter-offer," she replied. "We need to get to our hotel room and take a nice long hot shower. _Then_ we can figure out what to do. And I'm kinda hoping it will be quick sex, then ten hours of sleep."

Ned's eyebrows rose. "Quick?"

"What can I say. You, me, mostly naked, under a blanket..."

He chuckled softly. "You're making a case for not waiting," he pointed out.

"Hmm. And who knows how long it'll take for us to get to shore," she mused.

"Not long," he predicted. "Not if we decide to wait. I just need to get the oars..."

She didn't mean to, but she made a hoarse, almost panicked cry of protest when he just began to release her. She was ashamed of herself, frustrated by her weakness, but in many ways, she felt like she was at the end of her endurance. Things _would_ look better in the sunlight, but that felt like such a long way away.

"I'm here," he murmured, and tightened his grip on her. "I'm not going anywhere."

She closed her eyes, relaxing into the warmth of his embrace. Soon, she would find a way to somehow release him long enough to get them to shore. But for now...

"I'm here," she murmured to herself. This was real. This was _real_.

She was alive, wrapped in the arms of the man she loved, drifting in a raft under the stars.

Life could definitely be much worse.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally published elsewhere. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving feedback!


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